Chapter 2: Changing the Game

I went to a special place in my mind to escape the disorienting signal, driving it from my mind with memories of more dominating presences. Earlier I did so by calling on my days in C-Sec Academy. As I moved silently through the spaces between buildings and surveyed the situation at the entrance to the station I did the same but instead called upon my teachers from Alliance Intelligence. Though they did not give any combat training after you got out of the basic course that all soldiers had to take, the department did provide advanced tactical and recon courses.

"Your job isn't fighting, it's information and manipulation. We will not train you to fire a gun. You are trained to point the guns of entire armies. We won't be handing you a weapon. Your mind is your weapon, soldiers are your bullets, and if you do your job right so is the battlefield."

I am not a marine. I am not the type to charge in and mow things down, breaching doors and holding ground through attrition. Looking at the station I eyed two geth guarding the door, but visible numbers meant nothing. If I hit them then every geth on the planet would know that tower was being attacked and there was no way I could hold that place against a whole geth battalion and get it up and running at the same time. Not by myself. Worst of all was that the building was small, so that was the only entrance. I had to get them out of the way. I needed to use all my weapons, not just my guns. Good thing my only being in Alliance Intelligence briefly had nothing to do with me being bad at the job. I had run through the handful of scenarios in moments and formed a plan of attack in pretty much no time.

If the enemy all shared information instantly, then I just had to make sure that information was wrong. I backtracked, remembering a supply depot within line of sight of the station's front door. I would instead attack that, making sure to get the attention of those guards. They would be lured away and all the geth would think I was attacking the depot. Meanwhile I'd swing around and enter the station before they replaced the guards, covertly engage the door locks and restore the system in the time it would take them to notice the ruse. It was a very simple plan, but the most cunning ones often are.

Sneaking around, I came up around the opposite side of the depot and minded the timing. I had to make sure that there were only the four geth that were nearby, keep the variables in my formula at the most manageable level. When the moment was perfect I sprang forward and hooked the neck of the nearest geth with my modified crowbar holding it in front of me like a shield. Rather than kill it, I actually wanted it to broadcast its status and struggle. I mowed his partner down with rounds from my pistol and then fired and the guards at the station as I hit the button to open the depot. They advanced to firing range in their typical calculated way. Calculated by both them and me. I threw the hostage at their feet right before they reached the default firing distance and the two units paused for an instance to adjust to the new scenario, the former hostage standing to join them in moving to position. They were about to fire when the geth I'd grabbed suddenly beeped and exploded, disorienting them with an Overload charge I'd planted on him. The distraction was enough for me to hit them with a Sabotage. The precision strike ended how you'd think at that point. The helpless geth got mowed down. First the one that tried to roll to cover behind the nearby crate, second was the one that tried to rush me, and last was the one that waited for his gun to unjam and was about to fire.

Ignoring the depot I'd opened, I took a quick look around to make sure no more geth were watching, then bolted for the station, slipping through the door with another charge ready if there were more geth inside. Despite my efforts, there was one. Thankfully it wasn't looking my way right away and my body rolled to hide behind the front desk almost entirely on instinct. When the synthetic turned and rounded the desk to investigate, I circled around the other side. Through sheer luck when it went out the door and looked around it spotted someone else. I felt bad about leaving whoever it was to that geth, but my task was more vital than one life. I moved to the door and locked it then moved quickly to my console. Intelligence training was all about data and getting it where it needed to be, so the basic training included ways to get transmission through jamming. A few dummy subroutines and a couple data masks were all it took, but the fact that it took every trick I knew to get those running right against the geth intrusion said something about their ability.

"Commander Wilks, you've got five minutes. I can't get you total clarity, but I can get you enough to get the message across." The channel opened, but the reply was muffled by gunfire and explosions. I could only make out something about an ambush, "Commander? Commander you need to broadcast now, I can't make a long range transmission from here without pulling the entire geth army down on me. Commander!"

I barely heard a confirmation as the transmission began, then a familiar voice cut through the noise, it was Gunnery Chief Williams, "Get down!"

Wilks started sending his call, "We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties. I repeat: heavy casualties! We can't... argh!... Need evac! They came out of nowhere. We need-"

The familiar sound of a gunshot wound being forcibly created cut him off. It was clear he was dead, "Dammit! Wilks! Wilks are you alive?" Nothing, "Dammit!"

Quickly locking all the civilian doors in the colony with the emergency safeguard, I could only hope the measure wasn't trapping too many outside. Thankfully it couldn't trap people inside with anything. Otherwise I'd have likely had nightmares later of people escaping the grasp of a geth, only to find they couldn't get out the door to flee, like in some in horror vid or something. That aside, I had to make a tough call really fast. The transmission had been sent, so help was on the way, and this console was the only one that could unlock every door at once. If I broke it, the citizenry would be safer, but I'd have to take the primary communications tower to send another transmission. In the end I decided the colonists needed to be secured and one message was enough. I jammed a Sabotage charge into the system and detonated it, the close proximity to the sensitive bits frying the whole thing. I couldn't hold the place alone and with Wilks' squad down there was nobody keeping the geth from making off with whatever they were after. I had to hit the dig site myself.

Around twenty minutes later...

Breathing hard, I injected some medigel into the hole in my thigh and watched the material form a seal and isolate the tiny bullet for removal later. "If there is a later."

I staunched the bleeding from a bite wound I'd gotten not long after I was shot and thanked my lucky stars the armor I was wearing minimized the various electrical burns I would have otherwise gotten. My mind reeled from fatigue and the new enemy. They looked as human as something so inhuman could be. More circuitry than flesh. I'd seen spikes scattered across the landscape turning citizens into those mindless cybernetic zombies, and they looked close enough to geth technology, but it seemed inefficient. One huge spike to make one unit and it required a body? Even the psychological impact of seeing old friends in that form didn't seem worth the time for such a small scale strike. What the hell was so important about the dig site that they were taking those kinds of measures?

I was a few clicks south of finding out, but the closer I got the thicker the resistance was. I was very much outnumbered and outgunned. There was no way I would be saving the day without help. Or at least catching my breath. In fact, I was so tired I almost didn't pick up the radio chatter or see that Alliance vessel approaching and stopping at a drop point far east of my position. The communications tower was likely compromised again, but that ship provided its own hub so I tried my best to cut through the jamming and find the right channel to contact the reinforcements.

"Normandy crew, this is Chief Roland Morgan of Alliance Colonial Security. Do you copy?" gathering my strength, I moved up the ridge to get a better look at the dig site and space port. Perhaps I could meet up with them on the way or pull sniper duty.

A voice came over the connection, it was slightly distorted from the transmission, but it carried the tone of an ally. Probably turian, "This is Nihlus Krylik, patching you in now. Set your omni-tool to channel 7, I've got it secured."

"Right." I did so.

Nihlus addressed someone else on the channel, "Commander Shepard, I've got the local security chief on the com, he's patched in now. Chief Morgan, what is your position?"

"A few clicks south of and overlooking the dig site. I just made it to the ridge line separating it from the civilian sector. Give me a moment and I'll try to survey the area."

Nihlus seemed to approve, "I'm sending you my coordinates, see what you can do."

Another voice spoke up, which I assumed was Commander Shepard, "Giving you my squad's position too. The transmission painted an ugly picture, what's the situation in the civilian sector?"

"Overrun by the geth but fairly secure. Most of the attack seems centered on this district rather than the rest of the colony. The geth can bypass the security eventually, but it should slow them down." I scanned the area near Nihlus, "Nihlus, check your corners. Geth squad on the right in the clearing ahead of you."

"Roger that."

Another new voice, "The geth haven't been seen outside the veil in two hundred years. Why attack now?"

"They must be after the beacon." Shepard replied.

"I thought they found something huge in those ruins, but a beacon?" I was naturally shocked, "Any clue what's in it?"

"We're as in the dark as you are on that, Chief."

Finding Shepard, I spotted his three man squad approaching a turn in the small valley they were in. Inspecting some dead colonists, Shepard motioned for one of his number to take point. Too late I spotted some drones flying in fast, "Shepard, hit the dirt, you've got incoming!"

I aimed my rifle and fired, but the point man was mowed down soon after by the other two drones. I slammed another shot into the side of the next drone and the commander dropped the last with a shout of anger. The dead soldier's name was Jenkins, and the two survivors moved quickly to his body.

New voice took it a little hard, but mostly in stride, "Ripped right through his shields. He didn't stand a chance."

Shepard consoled the man, "We have to move, Kaiden, we'll make sure he gets a proper burial later."

"Move now rather than later, Shepard, you've got more drones headed your way." My scan of the path ahead came across the distant sight of someone slender in white armor running from a squad of geth and drones. "Shooting gave away my position so I've got to move. Shepard, double time it, your current path has you en route to a survivor under fire."

"Got it."

"Nihlus, I don't have a bead on you from this position, are you good?"

"This place is crawling, but I'm clear for the moment. I could use your eyes though."

"Repositioning now. That survivor is in more pressing straights right now and I need to get closer to lend him a hand... or rather a bullet."

"Good to have some extra fire support." Shepard noted.

The run to a new spot wasn't as bad as I imagine the other people were having, but a dive down a rocky incline to dodge a drone and an encounter with a geth sniper on the same ridge line were definitely hampering. It was taking so long to find a place where I wouldn't be found that I ended up plopping down in a good firing position and throwing caution to the wind. It was good timing too, as Shepard was nearing a wide clearing at the same time as the survivor. I eyeballed the important players on the scene as best I could, then scoped them. The pursuit had thinned a bit during the chase, and the last two of the drones on the job were taken out with some wild shooting from-

"Williams?" I noted out loud. Seeing her gaze shift to the side I quickly scoped out two geth. I only consciously registered 'geth', 'hostage', and 'danger' before instinct took over and I put a bullet in the chest of one of them. It was only after the thing fell over that I processed that the hostage was being placed on one of those conversion spikes and the one I'd shot was the one reaching for the button.

One thing you can say about C-Sec is they really know how to train snipers.

The other geth discarded the hostage and went after Chief Williams. Both she and I were leveling our weapons at it when it was perforated by an incredibly tight burst of fire that I at first thought was from a pistol. Looking over, it was actually Shepard with an assault rifle. That he could be that precise with it was amazing. He shot some praise over the line, "Nice shot, Chief."

"Same to you, Commander." I grinned, "You're clear for right now."

Nihlus sent a status update, "Moving to the dig site."

I scanned for him, "Nihlus, watch your flank, you've got geth coming up from behind."

"Is the dig site clear?"

"No, there's a geth squad at the site and I don't have a clear shot at any of them. That and I have to move again. There's drones patrolling this area and now they know where I am."

"Dammit. Change in plans. Shepard, I'll lure this squad away and then meet up with you elsewhere."

"Got it." Shepard replied then seemed to recruit Williams to the fight.

I added my two cents, "There's a space port just beyond the site. You can circumvent the dig and scout the perimeter. The place is probably crawling even more though."

"Then I'll need some extra support. Can you cover me from anywhere on that ridge?"

"Give me some time and I'll have your back. It's a bit far though, there's no guarantee I'll be able to get a signal though the interference."

"Then just shoot the things you'd normally warn me about. We have to act fast and strike hard or the geth will get the beacon."

"Understood."

I looked for a general area that would be a good place to start looking for a new spot and headed out, trudging along for a few dozen meters and taking a controlled slide down a slope to get to a stony outcropping. By the time I got there, Nihlus was nearing the spaceport, so I looked at the scene ahead. My spot wasn't that great. There was big blind spot on one side and to get from my spot to a new one would take a lot of time. In fact, covering the larger part across the tramway would require climbing down and to another ridge. I did have enough of a view to notice something odd though.

"Nihlus, there's pretty much nothing at the space port entryway. It makes no sense. They should be all over that area." I voiced my concerns over the line. He didn't reply, "Shepard. Did you get that? I think I'm out of range of Nihlus."

Gunfire came over the connection when Shepard activated his headset to reply, "We're a bit preoccupied, but I'll try to relay." the sound of a bullet whizzing by the microphone told me he'd nearly taken one to the helmet, "They're trying to flank! Press harder!"

Keeping an eye on Nihlus, I saw something I didn't expect walk out of the blind spot. Another turian. Nihlus seemed to know him, but something didn't seem right. Nihlus' body language was that of surprise. Zooming in, I could have sword that the new turian glanced right at me, a thought backed up by him miving back into my blind spot. The bad feeling brought a simple fact to mind. If he hadn't talked with us yet and Nihlus was surprised that he was there, that meant he wasn't part of the crew of the Normandy. There weren't any turians on Eden Prime either. As head of security I'd know if there was. He was right in the spaceport and only two vessels had landed on the planet lately. The Normandy and...

"Nihlus! GET DOWN!" I was in motion before the traitor's gun even started raising to shoot Nihlus, who had turned his back to the deceiver. I had to make the shot count. He couldn't hear me, I couldn't shoot the betrayer, and the gun was too small to hit at the distance I was at. It seconds I made a hasty choice.

I shot at Nihlus. Not to kill, but for a wound that would get him out of the way of the gun aimed at his head and hopefully turn him around or get him into cover. My shot went a llittle high in a good but far too close for comfort kind of way, striking the armored hump behind his neck, the force of the shot doing nothing to the man aside from spinning him around and knocking him down. It was perfect spot to shoot him... a matter of inches from accidentally blowing his head off myself. Pure, dumb luck. Problem was, Nihlus was stunned, both by the sudden shot and b noticing the other turian had pulled a gun on him. He was wide open and grounded. The traitor turian simply pelted him with a few rounds and left him for dead. The bastard walked towards the tram and radioed someone. Probably the geth. In fact I was sure he called them since a unit started moving towards Nihlus to secure the area. The wounded turian was hanging on, but I doubted he'd last, especially when incoming hostiles.

"Dammit!" I stood to advance and join Shepard's squad, "Shepard, double time. Nihlus is down and has incoming! Move your ass."

Aiming to take a few of the enemy out, I was too caught up in the moment to think of the obvious. The obvious that sent a bullet straight through my shields from behind and through my torso. If he'd spotted me like I thought he did, then he would've have alerted the geth in my area too. I started falling from the wound, another few rounds driving through me and knocking me the rest of the way off my feet and over the edge of the outcropping I was on. I flipped over to my back as I fell and began sliding and tumbling down the steep slope. The last thing I saw before everything went dark was the headlights of a geth sniper squad.

"Roger that, Chief. I'm en route. Lend as much fire support as you can until we get there. Do you copy?" Shepard's voice came over the line, but I could barely hear it, "Chief Morgan? Chief are you still there? Chief!"

Next Chapter: A Double-Edged Sword

A/N: Sorry for skimming past the canon events, but those events don't really warrant a ton of detail and you can only get so much out the events when you're sharing the perspective of a guy several kilometers away from the place it's happening. I hope I portrayed a sniper supporting the canon events fairly well. Of course Roland isn't dead, and he may have bought Nihlus a second chance at life. How will the new character and Nihlus' survival affect the canon? Stay tuned. Next chapter we find out some more about Roland's past and two fan favorite characters join up.